Kaiser Huff
Kaiser (operated by user Kaiserhuff) is an ordinary human attempting to cope with being the definite underdog of the inhabitants of the Rossoverse. Rather than an array of powers, he uses his own training, expertise, and creativity to attempt to overcome his super-powered opponents, who frequently disregard him as not being a threat. He is also the owner and operator of a black market, providing arms, ammunition, chemicals, and a variety of other useful things to the locals. The Basics Name "Kaiser" Huff. As with many of his constituents, the Kaiser does not use his real name, and will not discuss the issue with anyone. Age Kaiser is in his forties. He is very nonspecific about where in his forties. Race Homo sapiens sapiens (Human) Physical Traits Height: 5' 9" Weight: 180 lbs Eyes: Blue (and only one) Hair: Blue (dyed) Distinguishing Marks: Kaiser sports a blue stripe (a tattoo) across his eyes (eye), and a blue skull-and-crossed-bones tattoo on his chest. His body is riddled with scars of varying severity, and he smells faintly of chemicals. Perhaps his most distinctive feature is the eye patch covering his left eye socket, which is bolted to his skull (although the bolts are concealed within the fabric of the patch). Usual Attire: Kaiser favors loose-fitting, black clothing. He almost always wears a black bowler hat, unless the situation calls for a helmet or other headgear. Origin Story Early Life Where Kaiser was born and raised is unconfirmed. He has, to date, always lied about his hometown, with answers ranging from Riverside, Iowa (the hometown of Captain James Tiberius Kirk), to Islamabad, Pakistan (an obvious lie). What is known is that he was born to happily-married parents, and remained an only child until their deaths from a combination of poor health and a fiery car accident. He speculates that he may have a sister, but details about her are scarce. Kaiser attended school and was a mediocre student, but demonstrated an aptitude for chemistry and languages that allowed him to just scrape by and graduate high school. Paracommando Immediately following high school, Kaiser signed on with the army of the United States. He came from a military family, and strongly believed that warfare was to be his role in life. He completed Basic Training on schedule and, being found to have a knack for jumping out of planes and breaking in to things, was assigned to a new "Paracommando" unit, where he was trained as an expert in chemical warfare and linguistics. As a member of the Paracommandos, he participated in the US invasion of Panama (Operation Just Cause) and later served throughout the Gulf War. Kaiser earned several awards and recognitions during his time in the army, including the Distinguished Service Medal. Following his service in the Gulf War, Kaiser was invited (and ultimately ordered) to transfer to a special government unit, the name of which he has not yet revealed. By the time he left the military, Kaiser had attained the rank of Captain. Government Agent Kaiser was extremely reluctant to become a spook, but his commanding officers and numerous black-suited individuals made it very clear that the choice wasn't his. He soon found out that They wanted him primarily for his linguistic expertise, and at first put him to work translating for government prisoners. This eventually led to Kaiser's training in interrogation, which in turn led to his "off the record" training in torture. To his dismay, Kaiser found himself enjoying his new work. After several years of working with the agency, as-of-yet unrevealed events forced Kaiser to flee the United States and go to ground in Gaia, where he remains to this day. Present Day Barclay Shipping To both conceal his operations and provide income, Kaiser owns and runs a black market disguised as a shipping company. Barclay Shipping occupies a warehouse downtown that is, officially, abandoned. It is nothing special to look at, with most of the windows boarded up or broken, but the building's interior is likely to contain just about anything a potential buyer could need. Even if the desired item is not currently in stock, someone at Barclay can probably find and/or acquire it. Subterranean passages lead from the building's lower levels to various locations around Gaia. Mercenary Work In addition to operating Barclay Shipping, Kaiser makes a fairly substantial living taking odd jobs on behalf of a wide variety of contractors, including corporations, police organizations, and criminal elements. Known Abilities Kaiser has no super powers, and so relies on training and creativity to carry the day. It may seem as though he has more skills than an ordinary person should possess, but the reader should remember that characters in this setting are not ordinary people. Parachuting: The Paracommandos are exactly what their name would lead one to believe. Kaiser is trained in all manner of parachuting, including standard para-drops, HALO, LALO, and BASE jumping. Firearms: Kaiser is trained in the use of standard firearms, though his marksmanship has deteriorated somewhat in recent years as he has come to use more and more area-of-effect weapons. If at all possible, he avoids using guns (aside from one in particular). Martial Arts: In addition to the Army Combatives training given by the Army and his mandatory boxing classes, Kaiser was trained by the agency in savate and aikido. Since fleeing to the underground, he has trained in military taekwondo, capoeira, and eskrima. He prefers to fight hand-to-hand, but circumstances almost always force him to use weapons. Infiltration: Kaiser is trained in the art of sneaking in to places and blending in with the locals. Given enough time and a few basic materials, he can blend in with any crowd. Additionally, he can open most standard locks, and has limited hacking abilities. It should be noted that he hates computers. Interrogation: In his time with the agency, Kaiser learned a wide variety of techniques for getting information out of willing and unwilling subjects. This includes a multitide of torture techniques. He doesn't like to talk about it. Gift of Gab: Kaiser has a knack for learning new languages. He is fluent or mostly-fluent in English, French, German, Russian, and Finnish. He has basic to intermediate proficiency with Mandarin, Cantonese, Portugese, Swahili, Japanese, Korean, Czech, and Greek. Gadgeteering: Lacking any sort of super powers, Kaiser has taught himself how to construct a plethora of useful devices, mostly using common household items. Chemical Warfare: This is one of Kaiser's trademarks. He has extensive knowledge of chemical weapons and their effects on the body. Ordinary household cleaners become skin-melting oozes of horror in his hands, although he primarily restricts himself to non-lethal chemicals. "If you need it unconscious, melted, or just freaking the heck out, I'm your man." Gadgets and Other Equipment Multi-Umbrella ™: Kaiser's signature weapon. The canopy is constructed of special woven (and nonmagnetic) alloys that are both bulletproof and fireproof. The skeleton is constructed of same alloys in a super-dense form that makes it practically unbreakable, although extreme heat has been shown to weaken the umbrella's structure. Specific pressure on the handle opens the canopy, and can also activate a number of weapons contained in the shaft: a blade extending from the tip, an internal gun, and a flamethrower. Giving the hand-strap a good, hard pull causes blades to extend along the edges of the canopy, and starts the umbrella spinning like a buzzsaw. Kaiser has successfully used the buzzsaw-mode for gliding in the past, but it doesn't always work. The internal gun usually fires shotgun shells, but it can fire any ammunition about the same size and shape. Kaiser frequently uses the gun to fire cartridges containing gases and other chemical weapons. He has admitted that he has several dozen Multi-Umbrellas in his hideout. Riot Gloves: A pair of ordinary black combat gloves at first glance. They have extra-strength grip on the palms and fingers, and are reinforced with the same nonmagnetic alloys used to make the Multi-Umbrella. Eight ounces of shot are sewn into the knuckles. The knuckles and palms can be electrified with a specific twitch of the user's hands, using an internal battery. Exo-skeleton: Kaiser appropriated HAL-suit technology and slimmed it down. The exo-skeleton gives him strength well in excess of an ordinary human and provides a considerable amount of armor, as well as a slight speed boost. Kaiser prefers not to wear the suit if at all possible, as he does not want to come to rely on it. In the event that the suit is deactivated or its battery runs out, quick-release switches allow the wearer to just shrug it off and keep moving. Torture Kit: Kaiser possesses a number of utility-style belts designed to be worn flush against the body and protect their contents from damage. Usually he wears one of these belts somewhere on his person, although, he will sometimes leave the kit at home entirely if that particular skillset is not required for an outing. The torture kit contains a number of small blades for making different sorts of cuts, blunt instruments for manipulating nerves and muscles, pliers and tweezers, zip-ties and coils of thin wire for binding limbs, and a number of small gel packs containing Kaiser's own version of a truth serum. Other gadgets exist, but have not been revealed yet. Known Chemical Weapons and Special Ammunition Kaiser has either demonstrated or talked about all of the following. It should be noted that these are his own mixes, and do not function exactly like their real-world counterparts. Nonlethal 2-chlorobenzalmalononitrile (CS): Dissolved in chloromethane and deployed as an odorless white gas in cartridge or grenade form. Contact with the skin and eyes causes burning sensations. Inhalation causes vomiting, burning sensations in the nose and throat, disorientation, dizziness, and restricted breathing. Some symptoms occur in any victim of the gas, though not necessarily all symptoms. Symptoms last for several hours, but can be relieved in minutes by full immersion in water. Salt water is particularly effective. Adamsite (DM): Deployed as an odorless, canary-yellow gas via planted bombs. Inhalation causes irritation of the eyes, lungs, and mucous membranes. This is followed a few minutes later by headache, nausea, and persistent vomiting. The symptoms take effect an average of five minutes after inhalation, though some subjects may experience them sooner or later. Symptoms wear off after several hours. Note: Some subjects may react violently to DM and die. This is rare, but you are warned. 3-quinuclidinyl benzilate (BZ): This is the gas most commonly used by Kaiser, fired from the Multi-Umbrella in canisters. It is colorless and odorless. Exterior contact causes blurred vision, dry mouth and skin, and a rapid heartbeat. Inhalation causes delusions, hallucinations, short attention span, slurred speech, disorientation, and loss of hand-eye coordination. Nearly all subjects are affected immediately by hallucinations, though not everyone experiences all symptoms. Symptoms wear off after a few hours, though in some cases they may persist as long as four days. Lethal Distilled Mustard (HD, Pyro): Deployed in canister or grenade form as a yellow-brown gas that smells strongly of mustard, garlic, and horseradish. Subjects experience itching all over on contact, then burns of varying degrees. Third degree burns are rare but not unheard of. Over the course of several hours blisters filled with a yellowish fluid will appear wherever the gas touched the skin. Shortly thereafter, the eyes will become sore and swell, resulting in temporary blindness. Inhalation causes bleeding and blistering of the respiratory system, damage to mucous membranes, and usually heart failure. If not inhaled, the subject will recover in one or two months. Inhalation is nearly always fatal, and if at least half of the subject's body is burned by the gas, death is practically a guarantee. Napalm: Everyone is familiar with combining styrofoam and gasoline to make napalm, but if you do it a certain way it makes something much better. This particular variety of improvised napalm burns hotter and longer than its more traditional counterpart, and is deployed by the Kaiser in cartridge, grenade, or planted explosive form. Non-Chemical Ammunition Porcelain Rounds: Porcelain dust, fired in a special shell. The shell shatters harmlessly on impact, releasing the dust. While this round does not cause significant damage (unless the target is shot from very, very close), the dust will enter the skin and cause itching, which persists until the subject bathes or their body works the dust out naturally. Rubber Shot: Like a normal buckshot round, except the shot is made from rubber instead of assorted metals. Mostly non-lethal, but broken bones and concussions are likely. Tracking Shot: Like a normal buckshot round, except the "shot" consists of a multitude of tiny metal shards containing a microchip that emits a radio frequency. Kaiser can detect this frequency and use the signal to home in on anything that has been tagged. Because the shot works on the principles of SCIENCE! and not conventional science, the batteries last as long as the plot requires.